


High above the clouds (or A very magical story with lots of food in it)

by Aurum_Ann



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:35:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23670904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurum_Ann/pseuds/Aurum_Ann
Summary: High above the clouds, floated a tiny kingdom. The people who lived there were happy and had frequent parties, where everybody was invited. Those parties happened once a month, when the moon wasn’t visible. First, everybody would watch the sunset together, then, the people would light up torches all over their towns and they shared what they had so nobody would be hungry, like a massive picnic.It was a relatively recent tradition. It began when, out of nowhere, a full banquet appeared in the streets of a small town on the edge of the kingdom, with soups and dishes and wine and fruits and desserts.No one was ever caught or seen, and when they tried to wait for the person who would bring the tables, the banquet appeared elsewhere. Nobody ever claimed to be the one, either. They knew they couldn’t prove it.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	High above the clouds (or A very magical story with lots of food in it)

High above the clouds, floated a tiny kingdom. The people who lived there were happy and had frequent parties, where everybody was invited, from the king himself to the poorest worker. Those parties happened once a month, when the moon wasn’t visible. First, everybody would watch the sunset together, then, the people would light up torches all over their towns and they shared what they had so nobody would be hungry, like a massive picnic.

It was a relatively recent tradition. That is, it had only been going on for two centuries, but it caught on fast. The tradition began when, out of nowhere, a full banquet appeared in the streets of a small town on the edge of the kingdom, with soups and dishes and wine and fruits and desserts. It happened again and again, always during the darkest night of the month. The people of the city were a bit worried, because they thought it could be a trap of some sorts, but they were extremely curious (and the food looked delicious) so they soon gave in and tried it. The banquet was indeed amazing, so was the next one, and they began to look forward to it. They would light up the whole city with torches and dine outside, all together.

The town’s people were thankful, of course, for the food, but they had yet to know who was preparing all that. Some looked around with torches, trying to hunt the culprit, while others hid and watched for hours hoping to catch whoever it was in the action. The women kept close attention to see who was buying what and how much. The town’s wealthiest man even made an announcement saying he would give one of his precious pure-breed horses to the person responsible for them.

No one was ever caught or seen, and when they tried to wait for the person who would bring the tables, the banquet appeared elsewhere. Nobody ever claimed to be the one, either, even though a horse was an amazing gift. They knew they couldn’t prove it.

More interesting yet is that the phenomenon started to happen in other cities too. It did not spread orderly, like a fever would, nor by regions, nor in any pattern. It was a complete surprise each time.

By the end of the decade, the entire kingdom was affected. Because it was such a large-scale event, the king called upon a witch, who was old and wrinkly, to calm the masses. The witch walked up to the city hall, mixed some herbs and colourful dust, breathed it in, waved her hands in the manner of those who can practice sorcery, and declared with a confident voice that they were being graced by a good spirit, and that they should give something back as a proof of gratitude, else the spirit would become spiteful, and a great sorrow, equivalent to the great joy they received, would befall over them.

The witch’s words echoed to every edge of their floating land, carried by the mouth of the king’s messengers. The towns folk were alarmed and hurried to pray and ask their sorcerers, priests, or their cities’ chiefs what kind of gift would please the spirit. They feared what was to come. None of them knew what to gift to a spirit.

In the city of Le the citizens were worried as well, but their hearts were not so heavy. That is because in that city lived a wizard in a house right at the edge of their floating kingdom. He was loved and trusted by the people, even though nobody ever saw him. But they knew he was there, because every morning they saw his buckets go out and bring water, and every sunset candlelight was lit inside. Most importantly, the wizard answered their requests and never once failed. Be it sickness, love problems, or bad weather, if someone wrote him a letter and slid it in through the window with a flower or a candle, he would do something to make it better.

Not surprisingly, the people of Le prepared to ask their wizard what they should offer as soon as they heard the news, tying the letter and candle with a red ribbon and slipping it in his house.

When night came, and all the population slept, inside the wizard’s house someone moved. The man inside carefully lit candle after candle, as he did every night, placing each little light under a photograph, until every photo had one. With the light, the man shimmered, his ghostly body reflecting the firelight. His night routine was to honour the dead, by laying flowers or lighting candles. Then, he prayed for them.

He had never cared for the dead when he was alive. Neither did he care for the living. After he succumbed, and his world became lonely, only then did he learn to give life its value. He had been a terrible person, relying on his magic to grant his every wish, ignoring everybody else. Death taught him love and compassion, by making him be a beacon for the other ghosts. He had magic after all, and they wouldn’t leave if they couldn’t work their problems out. He started helping to get rid of them. But he kept doing it, and it wasn’t a bother anymore, and soon the towns folk started to ask him for help... and their problems were so easy to solve! Why not? He found himself enjoying it.

His last good deed, the banquets… it had been a good idea. But now all the kingdom wanted to thank him, but only out of fear. As if he would have fed them for their human things! What could they give him that he could not get himself?

He found the newest letter on the ground, by the window. The letter was opened and read with great amusement. His hands were becoming more transparent and he suddenly knew, with a confidence that can only come through experience, that he was going to pass away. Grabbing some paper and a pen, he wrote his last words.

In the morning, the people found a paper tied with a red ribbon outside his house. It said: “Never in my life did I receive a thanks, for I wasn’t good. Not learning how to love, I wasn’t allowed to rest in peace. Now that I go to rest, I don’t need anything from the mortal world. But, if you liked what I started, then please continue it.”

The people followed the ghost wizard’s advice and spread the loving message all around, for centuries to come.


End file.
